Congress slams PM Modi for ‘widow’ comment

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election rally ahead of the state assembly elections, in Jodhpur, Dec. 03, 2018. (PTI Photo)(PTI12_3_2018_000115A)

The Congress slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for implicitly attacking former Congress president Sonia Gandhi with his “widow” comment.

At an election rally in Jaipur on December 4, Modi had said, “Ab main aapse kehna chahta hun, ye, ye naamdaar pareshan kyun hai. Ye Congress walon ki neend kyu haraam ho gayi hai. Iska kaaran hai, ke Modi jo ek ek kadam utha raha hai, unki ek ek dukaan band hoti chali ja rahi hai. Muft ka maal khane ke jo raastey thhey, uske phaatak band ho rahe hai. Ye pareshani iski hai. Aap kalpana kar sakte ho, humare desh mein Congress ne aisi sarkaar chalai, ki jo beti paida nahi hui, jis beti ka janam nahi hua, woh Congress sarkaro ke kagaj pe, wo beti vidhwa bhi ho gayi aur beti ki vidhwa pension bhi milna shuru ho gaya. Ye rupaye kaun kaun vidhwa thi jo leti thhi? Ye Congress ki kaunsi vidhwa thi, jiske khaatey mein rupaya jata tha? (Now I’ll tell you why this dynast is worried, why Congress leaders have lost their sleep. The reason is that Modi is taking steps and their shops are shutting down one by one. This is the cause of their worry. You can imagine, the kind of government the Congress ran, that a daughter who was not even born became a widow on paper under the Congress government, and her widow pension also started. Who was that widow who used to take away this money? Who was that Congress’s widow in whose account this money used to go?)”

The PM’s comment drew criticism on social media, where a video clip went viral in the last two days.

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Reacting to the remarks, Archana Sharma, Rajasthan in-charge of Congress’s Communications team, said, “It is unbecoming of the Prime Minister. He only considers political benefits and misleads people… That is why the people of the state are not re-electing the BJP this time.”

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also criticised the PM saying, “New low by @narendramodi. His insensitive comments on opposition leaders are a blot on the chair of PM. There are many things that he has to learn from Mr. Manmohan Singh. He has insulted the whole women fraternity in his urge to target opposition.”